Its time for a discount core 4 era!

[cannucky]

Regardless of what some other team may or may not have offered him (there is no proof, and rumored offers were as high as $14M, so we didn't match), we did not "have to match".

And I'm not sure of your logic: if we hadn't signed Nylander then we would not have any $11M contracts?

Caving at the last hour instead of holding firm showed the other two that they could do the same ,Mitch in fact did hold out but if you can't understand basic cause and effect well there's no point in discussing anything with you , sorry the education system failed you so badly .

 

[Blanche Blanche]

Nylander was a bit rough negotiating but he’s worth that easily. Make MO the captain so I can buy his jersey. 34 is back in the closet.

Im glad i have Nylanders Jersey.
29 but still.

I doubt youll be seeing 16's worn with pride as of late

 

[Blanche Blanche]

I've been saying it for years:

Running Kadri out of town was the deathblow to this team. That man bled blue and would have done anything for his hometown. I still cannot believe how this stupid city turned on a heart and soul guy who was born, bred and raised in Toronto and was actually willing to put his body and heart on the line for this team (racism? Idk). Naz had the energy and personal experience to keep these overpaid children in line,. He'd been through it all with us and earned to play out his career in Toronto. We don't deserve to win after that, and the proof is in the entitlement pudding that the core of this team eats on the daily.

I never fully got behind Hyman, but signing JT directly led to the loss of both Naz AND Hyman. See how that's working out for us now.

Pyjama boy as captain? He didn't earn it. Naz did. What a f***ing sad day that was. Kerfoot and Barrie for Naz and Hyman (FA loss, I know). Just pathetic roster management and so obviously a huge huge mistake.

Agreed. I always thought the Naz trade was a knee jerk to the only guy who fought back to our team being bullied.

Dubas sabotaged Babs.

Babs. Who ironically wanted a Tough Gritty team as in RoR, Schenn, Mccabe, Lafferty.

Dubas has done a decent job as of late, but his initial moves trying to reinvent hockey and learn on the job cost us YEARS of this rebuild.

Soft and Fast for 4 years. Bullied. Signed too many soft perimiter guys.
Next 3. Years Tougher and Tougher. Wasted picks on Tough rentals noone else wanted.

This season was his best at the deadline, but his faith in Marner blew up in his face.
Matthews as well, although one might say you give Matthews a Winger who isnt as weak as mitch and he has space to snipe it.

Also Keefe is still an Amateur. Dubas should be fired to the more i write this shit down.

 

[seanlinden]

I don't think there is necessarily anything wrong with the moves he made at the TDL.

But for whatever reason, the defense did suck hard in the playoffs this year. Years past, not as much of an issue, but this year? Gio/McCabe/Holl and even Brodie at times were far too many really rough games with just basic puck movement and management. Holl was the one who ended up getting scapegoated, but there were more than a few times when Gio/McCabe had rougher games than Holl had at any point in these playoffs.

They were good in the regular season so IDK what happened. McCabe may just be playoff inexperience but Gio/Holl/Brodie have been there before and played much better against Tampa just a year (and a few weeks against Florida/Tampa in the regular season) before.

The defence got exposed because the Leafs refused to properly support a breakout.

You look at how Florida broke out of the zone... it's always as a 3-man unit, making short passes. The Leafs were constantly flying the zone, trying to make a stretch pass to be able to outnumber on a dump in. It made them very susceptible to the aggressive forechecks.

Ultimately, you look at who the Leafs have under contract for next year on D, and they're probably 1 D short... Rielly-X, McCabe-Brodie, Giordano-Liljegren, with Timmins as a #7. I'd like to see Schenn stay, as a guy that might bounce in and out of the lineup with Timmins; if you can get somebody that really fits that #2 role.

 

[Eye Test]

The defence got exposed because the Leafs refused to properly support a breakout.

You look at how Florida broke out of the zone... it's always as a 3-man unit, making short passes. The Leafs were constantly flying the zone, trying to make a stretch pass to be able to outnumber on a dump in. It made them very susceptible to the aggressive forechecks.

Ultimately, you look at who the Leafs have under contract for next year on D, and they're probably 1 D short... Rielly-X, McCabe-Brodie, Giordano-Liljegren, with Timmins as a #7. I'd like to see Schenn stay, as a guy that might bounce in and out of the lineup with Timmins; if you can get somebody that really fits that #2 role.

Gio’s going to retire I imagine? He shouldn’t be brought back. We need some big boys on the back end to fill X. Schenn could be one but preferably someone else who is actually a top 4 D.

Rielly X
McCabe lilly
X Brodie
Timmins

 

[seanlinden]

Gio’s going to retire I imagine? He shouldn’t be brought back. We need some big boys on the back end to fill X. Schenn could be one but preferably someone else who is actually a top 4 D.

Rielly X
McCabe lilly
X Brodie
Timmins

Gio's got a year left on his deal. I don't think he's done yet.

That being said, he should probably start to play a smaller role as Timmins emerges. If you can get a decent sized right shot D that belongs on a top pair, and keep Luke Shcenn, I think that creates a ton of flexibility with 8 defencemen.

 

[notDatsyuk]

Caving at the last hour instead of holding firm showed the other two that they could do the same ,Mitch in fact did hold out but if you can't understand basic cause and effect well there's no point in discussing anything with you , sorry the education system failed you so badly .

Needless insults aside, so Willy 'caving' and settling for under $7 proved to Mitch and Matty that they didn't have to and could hold out for more? And what does any of that have to do with JT?

 

[Apotheosis]

Get some assets back for most of the core, I think it should be obvious at this point. Only keep Nylander, Knies and Woll and some of the energy depth pieces like Lafferty and Acciari who actually grind and have heart when they play.